AC 2007-3119: A DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR EMPOWERING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING Richard Savage, California Polytechnic State University © American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 A Design Methodology for Empowering Project-based Learning

One of our primary objectives is to equip undergraduate engineering students to be successful global engineers, ready to face the challenges of the 21 st century. Students need to develop self-directed learning skills, systems level thinking, the ability to integrate principles of sustainability into design solutions and recognize that they serve a global community. Project-based learning (PBL) has been identified as an effective process for developing these skills; however, to be effective, project-based learning activities require a clearly articulated design methodology. Engineering students must learn to recognize the similarities and differences between the scientific and design methods. Both can be looked at as systems for solving problems; however, the input for the scientific method is a theory with the output being increased knowledge while the input for the design method is an application with the output being a device or process. Design is a method that involves both creativity and innovation but it is also constraine